The Little White Wedding
by Cecelia Moran
Summary: Sequel to Little White Kitten. GreecexReader: You've been living with Heracles for a few years now and now you're getting married! Except someone from his past wants to crash the party. New characters include Ancient Greece, Germania, Prussia and Rome!
1. The Hitch

_The Hitch_

You were excited. Can't sit still, scared out of your mind, head about to explode excited. But why not? You were getting what you wanted, the ring in the box was just the beginning of a whirlwind of planning and tumbling into bed at night, asleep before you hit the pillow. Heracles's mother, Roxanne, had arrived the day before with her boyfriend, Lucius, who happened to be Feliciano and Lovino's father. That was how they met and how Kiku got introduced to the Vargas brothers. Apparently Kiku had been an exchange student when Heracles met him, always curious, but he didn't like getting too close to people.

You hadn't wanted a very big wedding, and Heracles would have been happy to oblige you, but Roxanne refused because 'that's not how the Greeks do it'. You took it in good grace, but you just wanted this to be over. The guest list looked miles long, even after Heracles vetoed a few people, including an Ivan Braginski and a Sadiq Adnan of whom he seemed to have a particular aversion.

You were buying a wedding present to be gifted the very next day. You'd actually been in and out of alleys all week looking for a cat. A perfect cat. Something that worried you in the beginning was that he would love his cats more than you, but he didn't. You were in a small, slightly dingy pet store in a rather derelict part of Paris when you found him. A thin black cat with green eyes. Once you'd purchased him you started to walk home, hoping to hide the cat with Ludwig, he would safeguard it until tomorrow. You were striding down the cracked sidewalk when one hand clamped down on your shoulder and another covered your mouth, forcing you to drop the box which tipped over and opened, your gift running off into the gathering night. You tried to scream, twisting in your captor's arms.

"So feisty, mon cher!" a voice exclaimed and the world went black.

You woke up with your mouth tasting gross, your tongue sluggish and a headache. Once you'd stopped being in so much pain from lifting your head and having your eyes open, you looked around the room. You were lying on a bed with a rather thin mattress in one corner and it was dark. You could make out shapes of people moving against a dim yellow light.

"Look, Francis, we caught her so you could have your fun first," an angry voice snapped, "If I'd had my way we'd have left her dead on the street."

"That wouldn't have done much," a second, oddly accented voice said. "If they find her played with it will hurt more. We know you want to hurt Heracles."

"It is sad," Francis sighed, "That one so beautiful has to die." You felt someone walking up to the bed then two fingertip traced from your temple to your neck. "What fun we shall have, ma beauté."

"However," the accented voice interrupted, "We should wait a few days, make them sweat."

"You are right Ivan." The hand left your face. "But I think Sadiq will be driven insane because of his impatience."

"A price we will have to pay, he's already partly insane," Ivan replied. "We all know what we want."

"Shouldn't she have been back by now?" Roxanne fumed, still refusing to let anyone eat until [name] returned.

"Sometimes she's late," Heracles said with a shrug, "Not often, but sometimes."

"What if she's hurt?" she insisted, "What is she's been killed or kidnapped?"

"Mother, please stop imagining the worst," he chided. Honestly, he was a little worried, too, but he was able to keep it in check until his mother started going on about it.

"Roxanne, would you feel better if Heracles and I went out to look for her?" Lucius asked. This was apparently a day he would humor her. She nodded.

Heracles sighed. "I'll get my jacket."

"And you had better not just be going to some bar! I know what alcohol smells like!" she called after them as they left.

For a while they walked in silence before Lucius asked, "Do you really think the same as your mother about this?"

"I honestly try not to think about it," he said quietly, "I never tell her, but I hate it like hell when she doesn't come back when I think she will."

"Heracles!" a deep German voice called from down the street, the burly figure advancing quickly toward them.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, never having seen Ludwig distressed about something other than Feliciano.

"[Name] was supposed to come by the shop an hour and a half ago," he replied, running his fingers through his perfectly styled blonde hair. "She didn't show up and I thought something may have happened. Have you seen her?"

"No, she went out saying she would be long, didn't take her cell phone with her," Heracles said, anxiety marring his features.

Lucius spoke out in the dark, "Well, I think we may have a problem. The wedding is tomorrow and the bride is gone without a trace."

"Time to call in the troops," another voice said. A tall man with long blonde hair who greatly resembled Ludwig stepped from the doorway to a bar.

"May I introduce my father, Everett Beilschmist," Ludwig said, not sounding surprised at his appearance. "Behind him is my brother, Gilbert."

"Did I hear that we have a fight on our hands?" Gilbert's eyes glowed in the darkness, a sinister smile spreading across his face.

"I'm afraid we do."


	2. The Battle Plan

_**Part 2: The Battle Plan**_

_WARNING: PERVERTED FRANCIS WITHIN_

They all ended up going back to the souvenir shop and the tale was told to the Vargas brothers with much dismay on the part of one and disinterest on the part of the other. Kiku was also unhappy, but he was more contained than the young Italian.

"But who would do something like this?" Feliciano sobbed, "[name] is so nice and she loves kitties!"

"Perhaps someone from her past?" Kiku offered.

"She did have a little trouble with Francis Bonnefoy a few years ago when she first came to Paris," Heracles said, pacing back and forth through the shop's supply room.

"Francis couldn't orchestrate a kidnapping on his own and certainly would be malicious enough, so he can't be the only one, he can't be the one pulling the strings," Ludwig insisted.

Lucius stopped Heracles in his tracks. "Perhaps Sadiq is still angry."

Heracles shook his head, "That was years ago, Lucius, besides I don't think he would be so angry as to try to ruin my happiness. All the years I knew him Sadiq held true to the philosophy 'an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth', I haven't done that badly by him."

"Who is Sadiq?" Gilbert inquired, his oddly red eyes flashing in the half light provided by the bare bulb hanging in the center of the space.

"Someone I used to know," the Greek replied vaguely.

"So," Everett determined, "If it isn't Francis and it isn't the mysterious Sadiq, then who is it?"

"Ivan Braginski," Lovino interjected unfeelingly as he moved about doing inventory.

"Ivan? I mean, I didn't want him to come to the wedding," Heracles conceded, "But I don't think that would spur such an intense reaction."

"Mr. Braginski takes whatever he likes," Kiku said, "Usually legally, but sometimes by force."

"Then he convinced those with past grievances against the two of you to help him get what he wants," Ludwig's father clarified.

"Shouldn't the police be looking for her?" Feliciano asked worriedly.

"They really ought to be," Heracles admitted, a little put out that he hadn't thought of that.

"So we aren't taking the law into our own hands." Gilbert seemed a little sad about that.

"It wouldn't be right. [Name] wouldn't have wanted us to do something like that."

"No," Kiku agreed, "She would want us to call the police. I have a friend in the force, his name is Alfred Jones."

"it would be good to have someone known to us on the case," Ludwig added, "You should probably call him." Not fifteen minutes later a cruiser pulled up in front of the shop and three officers exited. No, sorry, four. You always forget that last one.

Kiku greeted his friend who was as enthusiastic as Feliciano, but he became subdued as he heard the story. "Well, Art, Nat, I think this is a job for the hero!" he exclaimed.

"Alfred," said the man with green eyes, sounding rather irritated, "You know Natalia and I hate those god-awful nick names, and stop pretending that Matthew isn't here!" The quite man behind the rest looked up. He deeply resembled Alfred, but they didn't seem to be siblings. "Pardon my colleague, I'm Detective Arthur Kirkland, this is Officer Natalia Arlovskaya-" he motioned to the only woman in the group- "the quite one is Officer Matthew Williams and my loud associate is Detective Alfred Jones whom Mr. Honda seems to have past experience with."

"Why didn't you come down to the station and file a missing person's report?" Officer Arlovskaya asked accusingly, "It's not like this is a crime scene."

"I think we're all a bit too stunned to think clearly," Heracles sighed, pushing his hand through his hair.

"No one can blame you for that," Officer Williams said quietly after he finished writing everything down on his notepad.

You awoke a while later in a different room on a more comfortable mattress. The room was totally dark, but you could just make out the shape of curtains on the only wall in your view. You weren't tied up any more, but you doubted you could get out of the room. You got slowly to you feet, stumbling a little as you opened the curtains and through the bars and the glass you could see the skyline of Paris drenched in lights only turned on at night, trying to combat the encroaching darkness. You felt your face grow hot and moisture gather in your eyes as you thought about Heracles out there, worried, wondering where you'd gotten yourself off to. And the cat! The thin cat was on the streets and you would never find him again. Even if by some miracle you made it out alive things wouldn't be the same.

You leaned against the window frame and let the tears stream down your face. Ludwig would tell Heracles, he would realize. If only you'd said where you were going! Not that it was necessarily anywhere close to where you were now, in a dark room some number of floors above the ground. The door creaked open, allowing more light into the room for a brief moment before it was shut again.

"I see you are awake, mon cher," Francis said, setting something down on a table, you assumed. You refused to acknowledge him. He came up behind you and gently pulled your hair from your face. "I've never heard your voice, no? I'm sure it's beautiful." He was whispering in your ear and you could smell the wine on his breath. A drinking Frenchman. How cliché. Even when he began to stroke his hand down your arm you refuse to move or speak, totally against giving him the satisfaction of seeing you react to his advances.

He sighed, "I see you are not to be reasoned with. You could make this so much easier, [name]. You could surrender, and I could make you _so_ happy you did." He pressed his lips to your neck and you squeezed your eyes shut, wishing it was Heracles behind you, that you weren't in any danger.

"Why?" you whispered.

Francis abruptly stopped. "Why what?" He sounded a little shaky.

"Why are you doing this. I don't think you could without something that just pushed you over the edge." You didn't know that, you were grasping at straws.

"Ivan came to Sadiq and I," he replied off-handedly, "At first neither of us agreed with his views, but eventually, we saw the sense his words made. If we wanted something, why should we not have it? I wanted you, mon ange, and now I have you."

"But the day before my wedding? A little cruel, don't you think?" You had to keep him talking and hope he couldn't multi-task.

"That was Sadiq's touch, he insisted."

"What does he want?"

"Revenge. Apparently your fiancé got him in a bit of trouble a while back. He's very eager, which will lessen my fun to a degree, but I'm sure I'll still be dully satisfied."

"Would that have been Sadiq Adnan and Ivan Braginski?"

"Oui. How did you know?"

"Heracles insisted they not be on the guest list."

"Understandable," he said, drawing out syllables, enunciating each in turn. "I was right, though. Your voice is beautiful."

"Stop complimenting me, Francis," you replied, trying not to let the anger you felt show.


	3. Dark Night of the Soul

_**Part 3: Dark Night of the Soul**_

_In Which Everything Gets Worse_

_At the souvenir shop..._

"So, Mr. Beilschmidt, you were the last to talk to Miss [surname]?" Detective Kirkland inquired of Ludwig.

"I suppose I was," he replied a bit thoughtfully.

"Did she tell you where she was going?"

"To buy a wedding present."

"Anything else?"

"No, I don't think she herself knew where she was going, but she said she would come back and have me keep it here until the reception."

Kirkland nodded. Before he could ask another question Lucius burst out, "Heracles, we need to call Roxanne!"

His almost-son froze. "Dear gods grant us mercy," he whispered, frightened as he pulled out his cell phone, hitting speed dial.

"Why do you have your mother on speed dial?" Lovino asked accusingly.

"Because she's family," Heracles spat, holding the phone to his ear.

"_Did you find her?_" Roxanne asked frantically, "_You've been hours!_"

"No, she's missing," he replied, inching it away from him as he spoke, wincing as Roxanne began screaming.

"_**How could this happen? You should have been more careful! Why didn't you ask where she was going?**_"

"Mom! It's not as if she would have told me!" he shot back. You'd have thought they were a part of an Italian mob family, the way they argued. Feliciano had started sobbing again, now into his father's shoulder, who looked like he'd rather be in bed with Roxanne at this point, sleeping off an imaginary hangover. Gilbert appeared to be itching for a fight, but his calmer brother and father appeared to be restraining him somewhat. Kiku was sitting on a chair in a meditative state while Lovino finished taking inventory in the back. Ludwig looked tired, as did Everett and everyone looked ready for this whole thing to be over.

Heracles snapped his phone shut with a sigh and Detective Jones jumped in. "So, Mr. Karpusi, the only possible enemy you can think of Miss [surname] having here in Paris is a man by the name Francis Bonnefoy?" Heracles nodded.

"What about you?"

"I had an _altercation_ a while back with a man named Sadiq Adnan, but I think he's still in Greece. And it was a long time ago."

"So it's unlikely he'd hold a grudge?" Jones pressed.

"I don't know, he might."

"Well, that's not much to go on," Officer Arlovskaya said with a sour tone, "Do you know where she was going in a general sense?"

Kiku's head flashed up and with speed surprising for the Japanese man he went over to his computer and printed something. He handed it to Officer Arlovskaya. "These are the places [name] was going to, I'm not sure which ones."

Williams nodded, scanning the page before tucking it into his breast pocket. "I believe we're finished here, then," he said quietly, "We'll be sure to call you as soon as we know something." Heracles nodded silently, his head down. He really needed his cats now. He needed Vanille, the cat you brought him.

After the police headed out Heracles stood straight and spoke, sounding dead, "I'm heading back to the house. Good night." Everyone muttered or mumbled their farewells. When the tinkling of the bell on the door faded out Feliciano burst into tears, clinging to his father.

"Feli, stop crying for the cat bastard's fiance," Lovino snapped.

"Y... you should b... be sad too, Lovino," he sobbed, "A... An... Antonio was going to be there."

"**What?**"

"I told you that you should be sad," Feliciano said quietly.

"What makes you think I'd feel anything about that tomato bastard?" Lovino yelled, shocking his brother back to tears.

_Meanwhile, at the precinct..._

"I just don't get it, why would a girl disappear the day before her wedding?" Alfred asked, lounging in his chair munching on a cream filled doughnut.

"Maybe she got cold feet or was in love with someone else," Arthur snapped, typing angrily away, "Now get to work, you lazy cur!"

"Or maybe she was kidnapped," Matthew offered.

"That's rather unlikely," Natalia said as she dialed the next number on the list of shops Kiku gave her. "God, that Kiku Honda guy was thorough."

"That's my boy!" Alfred said happily.

"Let's hope it pays off," Kirkland said quietly, showing concern? No way.

"Hello?... Yes, this is Officer Natalia Arlovskaya from the West Paris precinct*... Thank you, you see we're looking into the disappearance of a young woman who may have gone to your shop earlier today... She had [hair length] [hair color] hair and was about [height] tall... Yes, they said she was beautiful, but I've never actually seen her... Really? I'll get a picture and bring it round to you... Yes, thank you, goodbye... I will." Natalia put down the phone and turned to the meek blonde who was typing at his computer. "Williams, I want you to go see that guy Karpusi and get a picture of Miss [surname], then tomorrow we can go to that shop and see if it was her. If it was, we know where to start."

"This is awesome, dudes," Jones almost yelled, "I just know we're gonna find her!"

_In a building in Paris..._

"Hey, Bonnefoy, it'll have to wait," a strange voice butted in from the doorway, it seemed to enunciate syllables at irregular intervals, "Braginski wants to hammer out the last details of your contract."

Francis let out an exasperated sigh and left your side. You turned around to see him push past a masked man with short brown hair. He leaned against the doorjamb, the light from the hall beyond casting him almost entirely in shadow.

"You know, it's too bad you ended up with Heracles," he said, "You might have lived longer."

"So you're Sadiq," you whispered, sitting on the bed, "He talked about you once, it's sad that you two never made up."

"As if!" he shouted, startling you. "That bastard doesn't deserve to be forgiven after what he did! What he deserves is exactly what he's going to get!" Suddenly Sadiq was in front of you, shaking your shoulders, hard. "He deserves to lose what he loves, just like I did," he growled. His brown eyes bored into yours with an intensity that spoke volumes about the anger inside him, against his younger brother.

"It was her wasn't it," you murmured carefully, "The girl Heracles ran away from."

Sadiq jerked away from you, stumbling back like you were some kind of disgusting creature. "_What?_"

"Everyone thought he was the father of her child, but he swore he wasn't," you replied, repeating the story he told you four years ago, "When they wouldn't believe him he left Athens for Paris, hoping she never came looking for him."

He stared at you, rarely blinking as if he couldn't believe what's you'd said. "That can't be true, it had to have been his! Ivan said it was!"

At that moment a few things clicked in your head about what was going on. Ivan Braginski was the girl's, Yekaterina's, brother and he thought Heracles got her pregnant, but is wasn't Heracles, it was Sadiq.

"How dare you!" he yelled, tightening his hands into fists, the fire returning to his countenance.

Your head jerked up, had you just said that out loud? Well, you might as well go with it. "What? Isn't that what you wanted? You love her!" you shouted back at him, "So be a man and tell her that! Why make your own brother suffer for something he didn't do?"

There was a slight shift in his features and you almost thought he would believe you. However, he dashed all your hopes when he spun on his heel and left the room, locking the door behind him. Your head and shoulders drooped, like a flower beaten by the rain. You laid back down on the bed, staring out the window to the city, would you ever rejoin that world?

_4 a.m. At the Precinct..._

Officer Williams picked up the phone, eyes barely open. "Officer Williams, West Paris Precinct, what can I do for you?"

"_You're looking for [first name] [surname], right?_"

He pulled himself up, grabbing a notepad and pen. "Yes we are, do you have any information about her whereabouts?"

"_Yeah, and I know who took her..._"


	4. The Dove Flies At Dawn

_A/N: I apologize for any mistakes made throughout this story and the title of this chapter. It makes no sense, I know._

_**Part 4: The Dove Flies at Dawn**_

_In Which We Finally Understand_

_10 a.m. In a Building in Paris_

"_Sir, please drop the water pipe and raise your hands over your head!_"

A loud clatter of metal from outside shook you from your restless stupor. You ran to the window and looked down through the bars to see a tall man with platinum blonde hair with his hands in the air and a length of piping at his feet. Several officers rushed forward to secure him.

The man in charge gave orders to the rest of them and half ran to the door in front and the others went around to the other side. Your breaths came shallow and fast. They found you! Thank god! You walked back and collapsed on the bed, relieved, you would go home. You'd see him again...

Detective Kirkland led the way up the stairs, closely followed by Officer Williams. The halls were dark and dank in the way neglected industrial buildings usually are. It gave off a feeling of sadness that penetrates the soul, like looking at a Holocaust memorial or an ancient asylum. Except it was clean, no debris on the floor, or old construction equipment piled up in rooms with the floor half gone.

They opened each door and meticulously searched each room, losing hope with each empty discovery. The tip said she was here. They reached the end and gently pushed open the last door on the floor. It was a fully furnished bedroom and would have passed as totally normal if there weren't bars on the window and the girl lying on the rumpled bed hadn't been missing for over a day.

Kirkland ran over to her while Matthew spoke into his radio: "We found her, fourth floor, last room on the right, she doesn't appear to be injured, but bring medics anyway." He released the transmitter and exchanged a glance with the blonde Englishman, not every case ended this well.

_At A Hospital In Paris_

Your eyes flickered open, trying to reconcile your surroundings. The bed you were lying on was slightly uncomfortable and told you you still weren't home and the air smelled like cleaning products. You turned your head carefully to the side to find Heracles sleeping soundly in one of the chairs lined up against the wall, his head lilting backwards and to the side, face peaceful and mouth slightly open. All that was missing was an army of cats sleeping along with him. You smiled at the thought, wishing he would wake up when Roxanne pushed into the room.

"Oh thank the gods!" she exclaimed, setting down the coffee on a small end table and rushing over to you, by way of smacking her son's shoulder.

Heracles blinked slowly before realizing your eyes were open. He stood, closed the distance to the bed and dropped to his knees, taking your hand in both of his and pressing it against his cheek. "I'm glad you're back."

Tears pricked at your eyes. It had been only a day or two since you last heard his voice, but you'd missed it so much. "I don't want to leave ever again," you whispered brokenly, pushing a few locks of hair out of his face. Neither of you noticed Roxanne backing out of the room.

"I'll make sure you never do," he replied, leaning over to kiss your forehead. You stayed there for a while longer, then Heracles straightened, letting your hand slide out of his and said, "I'll see when you can come home." _Home_... home with all the cats and that stupid box... Yeah, home would be nice.

_December 14__th__, 11:27 p.m._

"Do you really think Sadiq won't mind not being there?" you asked tentatively, snuggling closer to the handsome Greek at your side.

"He told me to get married to you as fast as humanly possible," he replied with a soft chuckle. Sadiq and Heracles finally forgave each other. In fact the former called the latter right after he phoned the police about where to find you. Since he gave up the others his prison sentence was shortened, but it would still be a while until he came back. Yekaterina and her five-year-old daughter, Leysa, went to visit him as often as they could. It also turned out that I wasn't the only person being held captive, Ivan Braginski was also responsible for the kidnappings of Eduard von Bock, Ravis Galante and Toris Laurinaitis. Francis had no redeeming qualities, nor did he have any more outstanding crimes.

You and Heracles were getting married tomorrow and you'd opted to avoid the usual bachelor and bachelorette parties in favor of spending the time in each others' company. The cats, of course, were there as well.

"Don't worry, [name], we'll send him a short letter once we get to Athens," Heracles said, holding you closer.

You laughed, kissing him playfully. When you pulled back you saw in his hand was a box. _The _box. You took it from him, lifting the lid. At first there didn't appear to be anything inside, but you reached in for the silvery glint, pulling out a necklace. The chain was delicate bearing a charm of two cats side by side, one made of black diamond with a golden collar, the other of platinum with a white diamond collar.

"For my lovely [nickname of choice]," he said, taking it and fastening it around your neck.

You smiled again, throwing your arms around his neck. "I love you, Heracles."

"I love you, too, [name]."


End file.
